The present invention relates generally to housing structures which house electrical circuits, and, more particularly, to a housing assembly for supporting a circuit board in a fixed engagement therewithin.
Electrical devices typically include electrical circuits disposed upon one or more circuit boards. Circuit boards are utilized to facilitate connection of various, discrete components which, when suitably connected theretogether, form the electrical circuits. Frequently, circuit paths are etched upon the circuit board to form a printed circuit board. These circuit paths facilitate the formation of solder connections between the discrete electrical components.
The circuit boards are typically housed within a housing to prevent damage to the electrical circuit, and, also, to support the circuit board in position thereby. Typically, a circuit board includes either (or both) discrete components or circuit paths disposed upon both top and bottom surfaces thereof. Conventionally, the circuit board is affixed in position by the use of one or more threaded shaft members interconnecting the circuit board and the housing.
When threaded shaft members are utilized to affix a circuit board in position within a supportive housing, apertures formed through the circuit board must be precisely aligned with corresponding apertures formed in the housing to permit insertion of the threaded shaft members therein. Slight relative misalignment of the circuit board and the housing can result in improper, or even prevent, affixation of the circuit board to the housing. Misalignment of the circuit board and the housing can even result in damage to the circuit board and/or the housing.
Care must therefore be exercised to ensure proper alignment of the circuit board and the housing. Such use of threaded shaft members, as a result, is both labor intensive and time consuming.
Attempts have been made to permit affixation of a circuit board to a housing by other means. For instance, devices known as standoffs are available which permit affixation of a circuit board to a housing without the use of threaded shaft members. Such standoffs are constructed by, for example, Penn Engineering and Manufacturing Corporation, of type numbers SSA, SSC, and KSSB. While such standoffs obviate the need for use of threaded shaft members to affix the circuit board to the housing, apertures must be formed in both the housing and the circuit board to permit insertion of portions of the standoffs therethrough. Precise alignment of the circuit board with the housing assembly is still required to permit the affixation of the circuit board to the housing. Use of such standoffs, while obviating the need for threaded shaft members, still requires assembly steps to affix the standoffs to the housing.
As any decrease in the time required to affix the circuit board to a housing reduces the assembly time, and, hence, reduces assembly cost, any means by which a circuit board may be more easily affixed to a housing would be beneficial.
What is needed, therefore, is a housing assembly of a construction which simplifies the manner in which a circuit board may be supportively housed in fixed engagement therein.